On the DevLoop test site, about 500 meters long, the capsule could accelerate to 386 kilometers per hour, Wired reports.
The concept of the Hyperloop system was proposed in 2013 by Ilon Mask. It involves the creation of transport pipes, which will move passenger or cargo capsules, dispersed by linear engines. The main difference between this system and conventional trains is that very low pressure will be maintained in the pipes, because of which the capsules will practically not experience aerodynamic drag and will be able to accelerate to 1200 kilometers per hour.
Initially, Mask was not going to implement the system in life, therefore several prototypes are being developed by prototypes, including Hyperloop One. In early 2017, the company built a test tube about 500 meters long called DevLoop and has already conducted several tests of its XP-1 test capsule. Due to the use of magnetic levitation, the capsule not only practically does not interact with air in the pipe, but also does not experience friction against the rails.
During previous public tests in the summer of 2017, the capsule was able to accelerate to 309 kilometers per hour. Now the company announced that during the last tests the capsule was able to accelerate up to 386 kilometers per hour, which is today a record among all Hyperloop prototypes developed by different companies. The company also demonstrated the operation of the hermetic lock for the capsule, which allows the capsule to be loaded into the pipe without the need to completely depressurize it. About plans to test its representatives the company reported back in August.
Recently, comparable, albeit smaller, speed of the capsule has been achieved by another company, also developing the implementation of the Hyperloop system. At capsule prototypes from various developers held by SpaceX, the capsule of the German company WARR Hyperloop was able to accelerate to 323 kilometers per hour.
In spite of the fact that initially Ilon Mask was not going to deal directly with the implementation of Hyperloop and only supported third-party developers, in the summer of 2017 it became known that the company that builds the tunnels based on it would still be connected with the construction of the Hyperloop system.
